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Our precious planet earth is protected by a thick layer of ozone around it. This blocks various harmful radiations and gases in the space from entering our atmosphere. And that is very vital in overall protection and safety of our planet. But unfortunately, there has been a gradual depletion of the ozone layer for several years now. Following are the causes and effects of ozone depletion on our planet, its atmosphere and all sorts of life forms.

What is depletion?

As mentioned earlier, there is a thick and highly concentrated layer of ozone around the earth that forms a protective layer. Now, this concentrated layer is getting diluted along with impurities that are arising from within our planet. So the layer is becoming weak and thin gradually year-after-year. This process is referred to as depletion of the ozone layer. There have been several researchers around the world studying this and find ways to overcome this problem.

Causes of the depletion

The causes of ozone depletion are all man-made and as a direct result of pollution, humans have created in the earth’s atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels, emission of greenhouse gases from factories and industries, vehicular pollution, CFC emission from refrigeration, direct chemical release into the air some of the primary causes. These get releases into the stratosphere and the sunlight breaks these compounds release chlorine. The chlorine released directly reacts with the ozone O3 and results in depletion. So the increase in such reactions can only make the depletion faster and worse.

Effects of ozone depletion on earth

As the ozone layer weakens, UV-B rays easily enter the earth’s atmosphere. This causes various health problems in humans and animals such as skin rashes, burning, cancer, and even blindness. These and many other harmful rays have adverse effects on aquatic life and can result in the reduction of various different species. Even the plants suffer the effects and this can make crops weaker and harvesting will suffer the direct impact. So as the productivity decreases, problems like lack of food supplies and stuff become inevitable. Even drinking water can become unsafe and can result in various diseases and infections.

How to save the ozone layer?

Now that you have understood what is depletion, its causes, and side effects, it is important to know how to save our planet. World leaders have already taken this issue very seriously and promoting the reduction of pollution in their countries. Measures have been taken to create awareness about the effects of creating pollutions. Car manufacturers are working towards making their vehicles pollution free by building electric cars. The ban on the use of plastics has been made mandatory in several countries.

“Go Green”

This is a quote that you get to see in many places including on packing of the products. The idea here is to remind people not to waste the resources and switch to things that do not emit pollution. Reducing the wastage, reusing things and recycling are the three main steps that will help in saving our planet. So if everyone starts following this strictly, then the amount of damage being done to the ozone layer can be drastically reduced. Even scientists are working on ways to find a solution to this ever-growing problem.